Ambulance and vehicle loading device.



No. 79?",l. PATENTE@ AUG. l5, 1905. W. R., HLL., AMBULANUE AND VEHICLELUDNG- DEVIG APPLIUATION FILED 11313.21, 1906.

www u :mum co, Mommuusmmzns wasmucarm n c No. 797,114.. PLTLNTLD AUG.15, 1905. W. L. HILL. AMBULANGL ANL VEHICLE LOADING DLVIGL.

APPLICATION ILED FEB. 2l, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED erase PATE-NT FFI@ .L

ANIBULANGE AND VEHIC'JLE LOADING DEVIIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1905.

Application filed February 2l, 1905. Serial No. 246,784.

.To Lil/ZZ whom it may concern;

Beit known that I, VILFRED R. HILL, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Sacramento, in the county of Sacramento and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and usei'ul Improvements in Ambulance andVehicle Loading Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a device for conveniently loading and unloading'vehicles. It is especially designed for use in connection withambulances and with the stretcher-s in which sick or injured persons aretransported to and from the ambulance. It may also be employed forloading and unloading hearses, dead-wagons, and generally for vehiclescarrying heavy g'oods of any description.

The invention consists of a supplemental bed slidable longitudinallyupon the bottom of the ambulance, a truck guided and movable upon thebed, said truck having a turnable bolster upon which one end of thestretcher is supported, and means are provided at the other end of theslidable bed for the support of the opposite end ot' the stretcher, sothat by lifting the rear end of the stretcher the front end mounted uponthe truck may be Withdrawn to the rear end of the movable bed after thelatter has been partially withdrawn from the vehicle, and the turnablebolster allows the stretcher to be turned at right angles with thevehicle, so that the attendants can easily lift it and carry it away orreturn it in the same manner.

My invention also comprises details of construction, which will be morefully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of my device. Fig. 2 isa plan view of the samef Fig. 3 is a rear end view, partly in section,of the same. Fig. A is a partial view showing the truck pulled out andturned. Fig. 5 shows the stop for the bed-wheels. Fig. 6 shows the latchfor the bed: Fig. 7 is a view of the notches on the stretcher-frame.Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a modified form adapted for a hearse withthe extension pulled out. Fig. 9 is a plan view oi" the same. Fig. 10lis a rear view of the hearse-oor, showing the rollers and the track.Fig. 1l is a View, partly in section, showing the roller shoved in andlatched. Fig. 12 is an enlarged Fig. 13

view showing the tracks telescoped. is a plan View of the stretcher.

In carrying sick or injured persons upon a stretcher which mustafterward be transferred to an ambulance or the like it is ditlicult'For those carryil'ig the stretcher to place it and its burden properlywithin the ambulance, and especially if the burden is heavy, as one oithe carriers must ascend the rear steps or otherwise get into thevehicle in order to carry his end to the front and afterward be able toget out again, and this in a closed vchicle, suoli as an ambulance, isdifficult to accomplish.

The device may be variously constructed. As herein shown, A represents aplatform oi suitable size and material which may be iixed in the bottomoi'l the vehicle so as to be removable; but this platformis not alwaysnecessary, as the device may be litted directly to the bottom of thevehicle. Tracks 2 ol any suitable description are iixed to the plat formor vehicle-bed, and these tracks serve to support the bed A, which haswheels or rollers 5 journaled upon it and adapted to travel upon thetracks. It will be understood that the position of these parts may bereversed, the tracks being' lixed to the movable bed and the wheels tothe platform or bed ot' the vehicle; but I prefer the lirstconstruction.

The bed t may be made of any suitable material, such as wood orangle-iron, and the tracks may also be made ol" similar material.

In order to maintain the bed or car 4i in place and keep the wheels fromleaving' the track, I have shown a guide-rod, as at 6, this rod passingthrough sleeves or bushings, as at 7, which project up from the bottomof the vehicle. The rod may extend through the rear end of the bed A andbe detachably secured in the front end, so that ii" it is desired toentirely remove the traveling bed I it can be done by iirst removing therod and freeing the part LI. This bed et has suitable tracks formedwithin it, and upon these tracks a truck 8 is adapted to travel. Thistruck is preferably made elastic and may be composed ot' arched orelastic sides, as at 9, having' a transverse bar connectingl the centerot' the arches, and upon this bar is a central turnable bolster l0. Thebolster itselfl may also be elastic, and in this manner the stretcher tobe supported thereon will be additionally relieved o'f shocks caused bythe vehicle traveling over rough roads or pavements.

The wheels of the truck may be of rubber or other suitable material.

At the rear end ot' the part +L is an elastic support, as shown at 12,the height being the same as that of the bolster.

The stretcher 13 is made of any usual or suitable form. The side barsare here shown as notched at 14, so as to rest upon and be retained inproper position upon the bolster, and the rear transverse bar of thestretcher may rest in the elastic support 12.

The front end of the platform A has a stop, as at 15, and near the rearend is an elastic stop 16, so that when the movable bed 4 is pushed intothe ambulance the front stop limits its movement, and the rear stopprevents its being withdrawn until said stop has been depressed. Thestretcher being supported upon the bolster in front and the elasticsupport at the rear, if it is desired to remove it from the ambulancethe rear springcatch is disengaged and the bed 4 is drawn backward,rolling upon the supporting-tracks until it projects a short distance tothe rear of the vehicle, this distance being a little greater than thewidth of the stretcher. The rod sliding in the guides will prevent thepart 4 from tilting, and it is arrested against one of the guides or anysuitable stop when it has been sufficiently withdrawn. The rear end ofthe stretcher may then be lifted from its support and drawn backward,the truck upon which the bolster is supported moving easily upon itsguide-rails or support until the truck has arrived at the rear end ofthe bed 4. The stretcher is then entirely clear of the vehicle, and thebearers may turn it around, the bolster serving as its tu rning-pivotuntil it stands at substantially right angles with the position of thevehicle. rEhe bearers will then have easy access to the head of thestretcher, and it may be lifted from the bolster and carried in theusual manner of carrying stretchers. It will be understood that thereverse movement will take place when the stretcher is to be placed inthe ambulance, the head being first placed upon the bolster when thelatter is projected beyond the rear of the vehicle, as previouslydescribed. Then the stretcher is brought into line with the part 4, andby pushing it forward the truck upon which the bolster is supported willmove to the front end of the part 4. The rear end of the stretcher isthen laid upon its support and the part 4 is pushed into the vehicle andlatched in place.

By a similar construction, modified to suit the character of the burden,the device may be employed in conjunction with hearses or wagons fortransporting dead bodies and for other vehicles which it is desired toconveniently load with heavy burdens. In this eonstruction the bed orbody may have the usual permanently-journaled rollers 20, extendingtransversely. Upon each side of these rollers is fitted a track 21,having' preferably a groove made concaved in cross-section. The bed orwhich are adapted to travel in these tracks.

These wheels or rollers may be of any suitable variety. I have foundthat ball-bearing rollers similar to casters are very suitable for thispurpose. The tracks 21 are made hollow, andY within the hollow interiorare slidable the bars 23, which are of similar shape. These bars havejournaled on their outer ends a roller 24, which by reason of the bars23 sliding in line with the tracks 21 will keep the roller 24substantially in line with the rollers 20. The journal-boxes of theroller 24 are supported upon stout rods 25, which are slidable insleeves or guides 26, fixed beneath the wagon-bed. These bars 25 haveupon them collars or stops 27, which serve to limit the rearwardmovement of the bars 25,

and with them the bars 23. rlhe truck 8 is fitted, as previouslydescribed, with the bolster 10, turnable upon the central pivot, andthis truck may be moved back and forward upon the tracks 21 and 23, thesurfaces of the tracks being in practice so made that the truck-wheelswill easily run over the joint between the two. The operation of thisdevice will be similar to that previously described.

Vhen a load is to be placed in the wagon,

the rods 23 will be drawn out to their limit of movement, and with themthe bearing-rods 25, and this portion will then project far enoughbehind the rear of the vehicle to admit of the bolster being' turned atright angles upon the carriage and clear of the vehicle.

In order to prevent this part from running back into the carriage, Ihave shown the pawl or some equivalent therefor, as at 28, the pawlbeing hinged to some iixed portion and engaging a notch in one of theslidable tracks 23. The load may then have one end rested upon thebolster 10, and being turned around into line with the vehicle thecarriage or truck 3 may be pushed along the tracks 23 and 21 and therear end of the load resting upon the roller 24 will move easily untilit passes off the roller 24 and rests upon a permanent support 29,located just inside of the roller. In order to continue the movement, sothat the load is entirely within the vehicle, the pawl 28 may bedisengaged, and the rods 25 and tracks 23 are then free to slide easilyinto their position.

The back end of the vehicle will be cut away sufficiently to allow theroller 24 to lie inside of the rear line of the vehicle-body, and inthis position the parts may be locked by a spring-latch 16 similar tothat previously described.

1n some cases where the load is too large to be conveniently placed uponthe swivehng I truck it is only necessary to remove the truck, and whenthe sliding rods 25 have been withdrawn, as previously described, theend carriage 8 is provided with rollers, as at 22, i of the box or loadcan be rested upon the roller 24: andv pushed in, and the front end willtravel upon the rollers 2O until it reaches its `final position. Therods 25 may then be lpushed into place and locked, as previouslydescribed.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a vehicle and its bed ot' a carriage movablelongitudinally thereon, stops to limit the rearward move ment of thecarriage, a truck adapted to travel upon the carriage, a burden-carrierhaving its front end supported upon a truck whereby it may be retractedwith relation to the carriage, and a pivotal support about which thelmrden-carrier is turuable alter being retracted.

2. The combination with a vehicle and its bed o'f a wheeled carriage,longitudinally-dis posed rails upon which the wheels travel, a guide-rodfiXed to the carriage, sleeves or bushings fixed to the bed throughwhich said guide-rod is slidable and a buriflen-carrier mounted upon thebed and turnable independently thereof.

3. The combination with avehicle-bed of a wheeled carriage, rails fixedto a bed upon which the carriage is movable, a guide-rod extendingr fromend to end oil the carriage, sleeves or bushings fixed to the bedthrough which said guide-rod .is slidable and which serve to limit therearward travel of' the car riage, a stop against which the front end ofthe carriage rests when in position,r and a latch engaging the rear end,and a burdencarrier slidable and turnably mounted upon the carriage.

4.' The combination with a vehicle-bed of a carriage,longitudinally-disposed rails, wheels upon the bed adapted to travelupon the rails, a guide and stop mechanism controllingl and limiting1the rearward movement of the carriage, a truck and rails upon thecarriage upon which the truck is movable, a bolster swiveled upon thetruck, a burden-carrier having` the front end titted to rest upon thebolster, a support Fixed to the rear end ot' the carriage upon which therear end of" the burden carrier rests, said burden-carrier being'capable ofi being withdrawn independently oi' the movement oit' thecarriage and turnable upon the bolster-support after being withdrawn.

5. The combination with a vehicle-bed of a guided andlongitudinally-movable carriage with latches to retain it in position inthe vehicle and stops to limit its rearward movement, an elastic wheeledtruck movable on guide -rails on the carriage, an elasticallysul'iportedbolster pivoted and turnablc upon the truck, an elastic support fixed tothe rear end oi the carriage, a burden-carrier having the liront endadapted to rest upon the bolster and the rear end upon the elasticsupport, said truck and lmrden-carrier being,l movable so as to bewithdrawn to the rear end ofI the carriage and turnablc with the bolsterto a position at substantially right angles with the carriage andvehicle.

b. rlhe combination with a vehicle-bed oil a carriage, tracks upon whichit is longitudinally movable, guides and stops by which the rearmovement olf the carriage is controlled and limited, an elasticAframetruck mounted upon wheels, guides upon the carriage upon whichsaid truck is movable longitudinally, a transverse elastic support andbolster pivoted and turnable upon the truck, a burden-carrier havinglthe 'front end fitted to engage and rest Vupon the bolster, an elasticfixed support at the rear end of the carriage upon which the rear end ofthe burden-carrier is supported, said burden-carrier being capable ofretraction to the rear end of the carriage after the latter has beenpartially withdrawn from the vehicle and turnable with the bolster toplace it at right angles with the carriage and exterior to the vehicle.

7. A vehicle havingl longitudinallydisposed tracks or guides, a truckmovable thereon, a bolster pivoted and turnable upon the truck, andmeans to extend the truck-support so that the truck may be withdrawn andthe bolster turned clear of the vehicle.

ln testimony whereof 1 have hereunto set my hand in presence oi twosubscribing witnesses.

VVILFRED R. HILL.

lVitnesses:

HENRY P. ,imooU, S. H. Nonnen.

